Any advice? We are going to my parent's house for Thanksgiving. My dh has to work, so it is just me and my 17 month old. I have no idea how this is going to work. He has only been sleeping for an hour or 2 max in the car lately...I am pretty worried this is not going to be a quiet drive.

Just keep it fun, tell stories, tell him to look out the window and talk about what you see, play guessing games, and bring small quiet toys. Bring along some snacks and plan a few stops so he can stretch his legs.

Stop every couple hours or so, play music he likes (maybe from a favorite show?). We make a 4 hour trip to our relatives every few months, and we bring our laptop which has shows/movies on it for our 6 year old and our now 2 year old.

Eewwweee Mama gl to you. I agree with stopping every couple hrs to let his legs strech. Keep him awake as much as possible before the trip to ensure he sleeps as much as possible in the car. Give him travel toys to keep him ocupied. May you take as much patience with you as you can gather up. GL

Put the radio on, but not loud, sing along and get him to sing along. Make a couple stops along the way to let him get out and "stretch his legs" That is what roadside rest stops are for. Don't forget to take along a couple of toys he can play with out there, a ball would be good. Or just walk around for a bit before you get back in and have to strap him back into his car seat.

Ever year my SO & I have to do a long ride with our DS, we always leave at about 5am or 6am, we stop to eat around 8am or 9am, so about 3 hrs of driving before we stop. When DS was under 2, I used a portable DVD and would put a Baby Einstein video on for him, and other baby type dvds he liked, and brought other little things he liked to play with, to keep him from going crazy, or driving us crazy lol. Snacks and water are always a great thing to have to.

That is a great idea. I wish my mom wouldn't have given mine away when I left it at her house!!!

Quoting heidi749:

Ever year my SO & I have to do a long ride with our DS, we always leave at about 5am or 6am, we stop to eat around 8am or 9am, so about 3 hrs of driving before we stop. When DS was under 2, I used a portable DVD and would put a Baby Einstein video on for him, and other baby type dvds he liked, and brought other little things he liked to play with, to keep him from going crazy, or driving us crazy lol. Snacks and water are always a great thing to have to.